The Lawless Years (1959-1961)

The Jane Cooper Story

The Lawless Years is an American crime drama series that aired on NBC from April 16, 1959, to September 22, 1961. The series is the first of its kind, set during the Roaring 20s, having antedated ABC’s far more successful The Untouchables by six months.

Director – Allen H. Miner

Writers – Jo Eisinger (story), Barney Ruditsky (based on the memoirs of)

Cast –
James Gregory as Barney Ruditsky
Robert Karnes as Max Fields
John Dennis as Dutch Schultz
Norman Alden as Lulu
Brad Trumbull as Brody
John Vivyan as Louis Buchalter
Stanley Adams as Gurrah
Carol Eve Rossen as Anna
Paul Richards as Louis ‘Louy’ Kassoff
Robert Ellenstein as Legs Diamond
Henry Corden as Wavey Gordon
Robert Sampson as Mad Dog Coll

Watch “The Jane Cooper Story” – S1E3

Jane Cooper may be on parole, but she intends to improve her status by ditching her nobody boyfriend for a wealthier gangster. As she moves up the food chain, she plays one man off another. Strangely, each of her ex-beaus meets a tragic end. This doesn’t go unnoticed by Ruditsky or the mob. She picks up the nickname “Jane the Jinx.”

Episode Guide: